Is a Jones Jr. MMA fight plausible?

It seems inevitable that some day, somebody is going to promote a match pitting an elite-level boxer against an elite-level mixed martial artist.

For the past year, former pound-for-pound boxing kingpin Roy Jones Jr. and current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva have talked about being the first to do a fight that would be a subject of much curiosity.

Silva has talked of wanting to test himself by boxing Jones, which UFC president Dana White nixed immediately. Silva still has four fights left on his UFC contract and it makes no business sense to risk one of your prime stars in a dangerous sport.

Jones, at 40, a Hall of Famer who is clearly past his prime as a boxer, has no big money matches lined up. So he has offered himself up to fight Silva in a cage under MMA rules, which, if nothing else, greatly changes the odds on who would win such a fight in favor of Silva.

White nixed that idea as well. He said he could probably promote it into being a big fight, but he felt it could hurt MMA in the long run and blew it off as something that would be done in Japan. Freak-show fights did huge business in Japan over the short-term. One can’t point to such fights as the direct reason MMA and kickboxing interest in Japan has faded, but it doesn’t appear it was a long-term positive.

After UFC turned Jones down, Nick Diaz’s camp talked to Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker, saying if Jones was willing to do MMA, they were interested in such a fight.

Coker said Wednesday it hadn’t gotten past one phone call from Diaz’s manager earlier that morning. At the same press call, Showtime vice president Ken Hershman seemingly nipped the idea in the bud.

"I get a Roy Jones call once a week pitching me things," said Hershman. "[The fight] would be a very long shot of ever happening."

When asked if that was due to financial reasons or sport reasons, Hershman indicated the latter.

"It has nothing to do with money," he said. "I think it’s an insult to the integrity of mixed martial arts to think Roy Jones, or any professional boxer, could just come in and fight Nick Diaz in a mixed martial arts context. In a boxing context, it’s completely different."

But such a fight would not be dismissed by one of the country's most influential sanctioning bodies. Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, indicated he would not oppose an MMA rules match with Jones, at 0-0 in the sport, against even Anderson Silva (24-4), the best middleweight in the sport.

"You’ve got to give Roy Jones a lot of credit," said Kizer. "At the end of the day, the most dangerous part of the sport [of MMA] is striking, not leglocks or chokes. It’s very different from Butterbean and Mark Hunt [a proposed 2006 boxer vs. MMA fight Kizer refused to sanction under MMA rules]. He [Butterbean] wasn’t a top athlete and the MMA fights he had were with rules limiting the ground time."

Kizer felt in the interest of fairness, a Jones vs. Silva fight would be best under more neutral kickboxing rules, but also indicated he would sanction it under boxing rules as well, feeling Silva has proven himself to be a top-level striker, and Jones is a proven elite-level athlete.

Silva boxed some when he was younger, but only has a 1-1 pro record in that sport, and it’s his attack of kicks, knees and punches, as opposed to just punches, that makes him so dangerous standing.

From a business standpoint, a match with Jones, hyped by the UFC marketing machine, under MMA rules would probably sell more pay-per-view buys than Silva would with any of his current contenders. Boxing star vs. MMA star is a gimmick that would probably do big business once or twice out of the novelty, but it would have to be with the right people at the right time.

There hasn’t been a ground swell of interest in the June 13 match with Tim Sylvia, a former UFC heavyweight champ, against Ray Mercer, at 47, a former boxing champ. Those two are meeting under boxing rules, but in a cage, in Birmingham, Ala., a non-commission state. The commission in New Jersey, the original proposed site of the match, turned it down.

The UFC business model involves its fighters signing long-term exclusive contracts, so that no matter who wins or loses, it can continue to market the winner.

For Strikeforce, a distant No. 2 in popularity, there is a different risk vs. reward ratio in making the match, as it has little to lose and can make a star out of it, provided it is financially feasible. Diaz has marketable charisma, and coming off his April 11 win over Frank Shamrock, his popularity is at an all-time high.

Strikeforce is expected to eventually get on CBS in a Saturday night prime time role. The company has proven many times it can produce a quality show, but with the exception of Gina Carano vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, it is uncertain if it can produce a show that would do viable ratings on network prime time.

Diaz vs. Jones would fit that bill, plus, with so many eyeballs watching, should Diaz come out of the fight strong, it’s the kind of a fight that can make his name as a star to a casual fan.

If Diaz decided to stand and box with Jones, the truth was, Diaz didn’t fare well in the standup with K.J. Noons, who was a journeyman-level boxer. But if Diaz employed the smart strategy, getting Jones off his feet, he’d likely submit him in less than one minute.

That makes the match better suited for television than pay-per-view. But for Jones to take the match, he’s likely looking for a new avenue for a big payday. Plus, from Hershman’s standpoint, Showtime has to protect both boxing and MMA.

"We’re looking to build the best mixed martial arts brand," he said. I believe we have the best professional boxing brand on television, and I think our fights month in and month out prove that. I don’t see the need to combine the two at this moment."